Notre Dame Still In Search of Stability

Jake Curtis, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, September 30, 1998

This week Bob Davie boasted that Notre Dame is 8-3 over its past 11 games.

Think about the inference. Using that statistic as a point of pride says something. Many of the Irish faithful would be less than thrilled if Notre Dame went 8-3 for a season, much less for a selected period.

That is the current state of Notre football. The Irish are 2-1 and ranked 23rd, but they remain a fragile team in Davie's second season as head coach. And fragility is not part of the Notre Dame tradition.

There are signs of progress -- the impressive 1998 recruiting class after a few so- so recruiting years, a strong assistant- coaching staff, the win over Michigan and the return to the option running game that got Lou Holtz to the top -- but no one, least of all Davie, is claiming the program is back to where it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Not after going 7-6 last season. Not after getting crushed by a Michigan State team that is otherwise winless. Not after squeaking by Purdue.

"We've got a long way to go," said Davie, whose team is an 18-point favorite in Saturday's home game against Stanford (1-3). "We're still building. There's no guarantee we'll have a good season. The Purdue-Notre Dame game was an even game. We've got to continue to improve and recruit."

How will we know when Notre Dame has re-established itself among college football's elite? "You'll know when every week we don't have to scratch and claw," said Davie.

Although Davie realizes it is folly to think a team can dominate the way it could five or 10 years ago, he knows the Irish are not the scary team they were not long ago.

Speed is lacking at wide receiver, defensive back and running back, a pass rush is lacking, and the defense is ranked 97th out of 112 Division I-A teams. And observers say Notre Dame players have lost their swagger, the feeling that they are patently superior. Running back Autry Denson said, "What we lack in talent, we feel we can make up with hard work."

Suspicions remain in South Bend that Davie, who had never been a head coach before landing the Notre Dame job, may be in over his head. In truth, the Notre Dame program had been in slow decline since 1993, when the Irish were ranked No. 2, the fifth time in six years they finished in the top six. They have not been ranked in the final top 10 in the four seasons since, and the erratic events of the past 22 months make it difficult to say which way the Irish are headed:

DOWN: Ranked 10th, Notre Dame loses in overtime in its final game of the 1996 season to archrival USC, which was unranked, costing the Irish a berth in an alliance bowl.

UP: Holtz's replacement is Davie, a young, player's coach with a great resume who brings good vibes to the team and to the fans. Notre Dame Stadium is expanded to seat more than 80,000, and the Irish win a close one in the debut of Davie and the new stadium.

DOWN: In Game 2 last season, Notre Dame gets waxed by perennial whipping boy Purdue, starting a four-game losing streak that ends with a 33-15 loss to Stanford, a loss made devastating by the fact that the Cardinal ran the ball down Notre Dame's throat for 330 rushing yards. Team captains reportedly asked Davie to replace Ron Powlus as the starting quarterback.

UP: Notre Dame has a near-miraculous turnaround, winning six of its final seven games, including a road upset of No. 11 Louisiana State. "We got back to smash- mouth, Notre Dame football," said Autry.

DOWN: The Irish get crushed by LSU in the rematch in the Independence Bowl.

UP: After relying on a passing game in 1997, Notre Dame opens this season by stunning defending national champion Michigan, using an option offense and an option quarterback (Jarious Jackson) that resembled the style and quarterback (Tony Rice) the Irish used to finish No. 1 in 1988 and No. 2 in 1989. The Irish rocket to No. 10 in the polls. "After that, we had a lot of confidence," said Davie.

DOWN: Michigan State, an 0-2 team that had just been clobbered by Oregon, takes a 42-3 lead and crushes the Irish. "Really, we were still in shock in the way that game went," said Davie.

Then came the inconclusive game last week, when Notre Dame, at home, needed a late turnover to beat unranked Purdue by a point. Davie called it a "courageous" win, but said he had to go for it on fourth down three times "because it didn't look like we could stop (Purdue's offense)." He admitted that if Notre Dame had lost, there would have been a lot of doubters, inside and outside the program.

It's been stops and starts. For a variety of reasons, the player attrition rate at Notre Dame has been high in recent years, but the new offseason conditioning program apparently has made the Irish strong in the second half of games, a contrast from last season. The schedule is not as brutal as last season, either, with only one current top-20 team remaining.

"We're going in the right direction," said Davie. "We're not sprinting, like people would like, but we're plodding along."

WALTERS MAY BE OK

Stanford wide receiver Troy Walters, who missed the past two games with a sprained ankle, has improved and may be ready to return for Saturday's game against Notre Dame.

SATURDAY'S GAME

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